Drive mechanism connected with carding engines



Ap 5, 1949. l. MARSDEN I DRIVE MECHANISM CONNECTED WITH CARDING ENGINES Filed April 6, 1945 Patented Apr. 5, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,466,606 DRIVE CQNNEGTED WITH CARDING ENGINES Irvin Marsden, Hor's'forth, Leeds, England, as-

si ner to Platt Brothers & Company Limited,

Oldham, England, a; company of Great Britain Application April 6, 1945", Serial No. 586,980

In Great Britain April 12, 1944 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to drive mechanism connected with carding engines of the type generally referred to as woollen, worsted, or roller and clearer carding engines.

The workers in this type of carding engine are usually driven or their speed controlled by a chain which is driven by a chain pulley or sprocket mounted on the doffer shaft, the chain passing over the chain pulleys or sprockets mounted one on each worker shaft and back to the chain pulley on the dofier shaft, suitable guide pulleys being provided where required. The workers rotate at a comparatively slow speed compared with that of the main cylinder, so that the teeth on the workers and on the main cylinder can eiiect the carding action on the wool, cotton or the like being carded,- as known.

During carding, it is sometimes found necessary to vary the speed of the workers, and in current types of carding engines, this can only be accomplished by varying the speed of the doffer. Also, it is usual when carding for the material being carded to pass through several roller and clearer cards, and in some systems itis customary to drive the workers in the last carding engine in a reverse direction to the workers in the preceding carding engines.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved drive mechanism whereby the speed of the workers can be varied to rotate at any required speed without altering the relative speeds of the other rotating parts of the carding engine, such means also enabling the direction of rotation of the workers to be reversed when required.

According to the invention in a carding engine having worker rollers associated with a carding cylinder, variable speed gearing is arranged between the said carding cylinder and worker roller. The invention may be characterised in that the gearing includes reversing means.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the improved drive mechanism attached to the framework of the carding engine.

Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1, whilst,

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 Fig. 1.

In the drawings only a sufficient portion of the carding engine framework is illustrated as is necessary to indicate the disposition and operation of the improved driving mechanism, and as shown the carding engine framework is marked l0, and the main cylinder shaft l I. A chain wheel 12 is mounted on the main cylinder shaft II, and a chain [3 carries the drive to a chain wheel M with extended boss l5 mounted on a fixed stud shaft l6 disposed in one end of a bracket l1 attached to the framework ill of the engine. Mounted and removably fixed on the extended boss i5 of the chain wheel M is a change gear wheel l8 whiclimeshes with a gear wheel 19 mounted and fixed onthe extended boss 20 of a wheel 2'! which in turn is mountedon a movable stud shaft 22' disposed in a horizontal, elongated slot 23 formed or provided in the bracket l7. The stud shaft 22 is capable of adjustment in said slot and also of being locked in posinen after adjustment, and the chain Wheel 2i mounted thereon drives through a chain 24a, the several-chain wheels (not shown) mounted one on each shaft of the several workers one of which is" indicated herein at 30, guide pulleys being provided and suitably disposed where required.

Inorder to vary or alter the speed of the chain wheel which drives the workers, all that is requires is to release and remove the change gear wheel 18 en the stud shaft i6 and to substitute a fresh gear wheel of different size and having a different number of teeth out thereon, and to rlease'th stud shaft 22 and suitablyadjust same in the elongated horizontal slot 23 to accommodate the fresh gear wheel or to enable same to mesh with the gear wheel on said shaft. The stud shaft 22 and the fresh gear wheel are locked in place after adjustment.

In order to enable the direction of rotation of the workers to be reversed when required, a vertical arm 24 having a slot 24.1 out thereinis loosely pivoted at one end on the stud shaft I 6, and at the other end of said arm is a stud 25 capable of being locked or released in an arcuate slot 26, cut in a bracket 21 attached to the framework [0. The slotted arm 24 is capable of being partially rotated about its pivot, and of being locked in position after adjustment. Movably fixed in the slot Mr is a shaft 28 and loosely mounted thereon is a gear wheel 29, which gears with the change gear wheel IS. The gear wheel 29 normally runs idle, and if the change gear wheel I8 is changed to alter the speed of the workers, the shaft of the idle gear wheel 29 is moved in its slot to permit such alteration. If found more convenient, the idle wheel may be moved and held out of mesh with the change gear wheel during normal driving of the workers.

When a change in the direction of rotation of the Workers is desired, the gear wheel 29 is moved into mesh with the change gear wheel I8, and the gear wheel IS on the movable stud shaft 22 is moved out of gear with the change gear wheel. The slotted arm 24 is rotated on its pivot until the gear wheel 2 9 besides meshing with the change gear wheel l8, also meshes with the gear wheel I9, Thus gear wheel (9 will now be rotated in a direction opposite to that of normal rotation, and the workers will be driven in a reverse direction. Even when the reverse mechanism is in operation, the speed of rotation of the workers can still be varied by simply removing the change gear wheel 18 and substituting a fresh change gear wheel of different size, with suitable alterations as to the disposition of the slotted arm and the stud shafts in their slots.

Thus, by the present invention, the speed of the workers of a roller and clearer card can be adjusted to any desired speed by the simple substitution of one gear wheel for another, without affecting the speed of rotation of the other rotating parts of the carding engine, whilst the direction of rotation of the workers can be altered when required.

I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a carding engine having worker rollers associated with a carding cylinder, gearing disposed between the said carding cylinder and worker rollers for changing the speed and direction of rotation of said worker rollers, said gearing comprising a pair of complementary pinion wheels, means for moving the axis of at least one of the pinion wheels to adjust it into or out of mesh with the other and to permit at least one of the said pinion wheels to be changed for another of a different size, a reverse pinion wheel and means for adjusting it into engagement with both of the pair of pinion wheels when such pair are not in mesh with each other and out of engagement with at least one when such pair are in mesh with each other, a chain driving connection between one of the pair of pinion wheels and the carding cylinder shaft, and a further chain driving connection between the other of the pair of pinion wheels and the worker rollers.

2. In a carding engine having worker rollers associated with a carding cylinder, changeable and optionable reversible gearing disposed between the said carding cylinder and the Worker rollers, said gearing comprising a bracket fixed to the side of the engine, a, fixed stud carrying one of a pair of complementary pinion wheels, 9. chain drive coupling said pinion wheel to the carding cylinder shaft, asecond stud adjustably mounted in a slot so as to be adjustable towards and away from said fixed stud, a complementary pinion wheel mounted on said second stud and adapted to be moved into or out of mesh with the first pinion wheel, a chain drive coupling the said complementary pinion wheel to the worker rollers, an arm pivotally mounted about the axis of the first pinion wheel, a stud carrying a reversing pinion wheel adjustably mounted in a slot in said arm for moving said reversing pinion wheel into mesh with the first mentioned pinion wheel, means for setting the said arm so that the said reversing pinion wheel may be held in engagement with the second of the pair of complementary pinion wheels when such pair of pinions are not in mesh with each other or out of engagement when such pair of pinions are in mesh, the adjustment for the said second stud and reversing pinion stud also permitting change of at least one of the said pair of complementary pinion wheels for one of a different size.

IRVINI MARSDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,335,108 Clapperton et al. Nov. 23, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 230,628 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1925 246,611 Great Britain Feb. 4, 1926 267,135 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1928 273,799 Great Britain July 6, 1927 5 275,076 Great Britain Aug. 4, 1927 600,816 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1926 

